Why Should I Use A Night Cream?

Are night creams really necessary? Why can’t we just wear our regular moisturizer to bed?

The cynics among us might believe that night creams are just another way for big beauty brands to cash in on your quest for glowing skin.

But while this may be true in some cases, there are actually some incredible benefits to using a night cream while you snooze. Keep reading to hear them.

How is a Night Cream Different from a Moisturizer?

First, let’s cover how night creams and daytime moisturizers are different.

Essentially, whatever your moisturizer does, your night cream does more intensely. Night creams are usually richer and thicker, delivering more hydration.

This amount of hydration from a night cream is typically too much during the day. Your skin may even look shiny, greasy, or overloaded if you try to go about your business wearing a night cream. This is definitely a no-go if you want to wear makeup over your daytime moisturizer or lead a busy life.

Likewise, the active ingredients in night creams have been used to work most effectively in a thicker formula and optimally during your skin’s nightly process.

Your skin absorbs around 15% more of what you apply at night than during the day. As such, many night creams are formulated to provide anti-ageing effects and are brimming with ingredients that help treat the likes of fine lines and wrinkles.

As a night cream is so much thicker than your usual daily moisturizer, you double up on the anti-ageing goodness provided overnight. Not too bad, huh?

The Benefits of Night Creams

Let’s dive into the benefits of night creams.

Moisturizing

During the day, your face must battle the dryer effects of pollution and the sun. During the night, your skin needs to remain hydrated until the morning.

A night cream will keep your skin quenched throughout the night, ensuring you roll out of bed with a fresh and dewy complexion. A night cream can even treat dark panda eyes that have developed due to dehydration.

Soothing

As we mentioned, your face goes through a lot during the day. By bedtime, the chances are that your skin is irritated from its tough battles protecting itself from pollution and sun damage.

A good night cream can help you calm and soothe your skin as you sleep so that any redness or irritation is treated. By morning, you should have a smoother, more even complexion.

Suffering from a nasty bout of breakouts? It may be tempting to dry out your skin, but it needs to be soothed and moisturized.

Collagen-Boosting

Wrinkles and fine lines are more noticeable when collagen is depleted. But don’t worry – the night cream is here to save the day (or night).

A night cream boosts your collagen production, helping your skin to appear plumper and firmer. This treats the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles and lessens sagging. The elasticity of your skin is delivered a much-needed boost.

Likewise, a night cream helps to stimulate blood circulation, helping to remove toxins and promote the skin’s natural healing and cleansing process.

How Should You Apply Night Cream?

Apply your favorite night cream after cleansing your skin to allow the ingredients to sink in well. Cell regeneration is known to be optimal between 10 pm and 2 am, so applying your night cream before these times is ideal.

After cleansing, toning, and applying a serum, place a dime-sized amount of night cream into your palms and massage it into your skin in upward, circular motions.

Our Top Picks

With so many night creams, it can be hard to choose one to pop onto your bathroom shelf. Here are some of our favorites.

Murad Retinol Youth Renewal Night Cream

Use the Murad Retinol Youth Renewal Night Cream to turn back the clock. The rich formula improves the appearance of contours and wrinkles while intensely hydrating the skin.

The cream reduces the signs of aging you can see – plus the ones you can’t yet, all while strengthening the skin’s protective barrier.

Dermalogica Sound Sleep Cocoon

The revitalizing Dermalogica Sound Sleep Cocoon transforms the complexion overnight by optimizing nighttime skin recovery.

Tamarind seed extract provides a nourishing cocoon of comfort for softer, more hydrated skin, while motion-activated French lavender essential oil works all night to encourage deep, restful sleep for fresher-looking skin by morning.

Other skin-loving ingredients include Persian silk tree extract to reduce signs of skin fatigue and to restore vitality while wu-zhu-yu extract provides visibly brighter skin by the morning.

EltaMD Skin Recovery Night Mask

Our skin can repair and regenerate itself up to three times faster while we sleep. Make the most of your skin's natural cycle with the EltaMD Skin Recovery Night Mask and wake up with a radiant glow.

This mask combines key ingredients, including EltaMD's patented AAComplex, that help to visibly reduce the appearance of redness, improve hydration, and strengthen the skin barrier overnight.

Do you want more skincare advice? Learn how beauty sleep works here .